How do teachers unions spend your dues?

DRAFT: It's your pay, but you do not have a say about how your union spends your dues.

Nationally, a portion of your dues, as a member of RI NEA and RI AFT, go to their national associations, where massive resources - funded by your teacher dues - have been spent to oppose education reforms across America.

In the past 5 years, almost $500 million has been spent on non rank-and-file membership-related political activitiesIn Rhode Island, that figure is about $1.6 million

Approximately 20% of this amount is spent on legislative advocacy, while another 30% is directly contributed to mostly Democrat candidates.

The largest slice is spent on fighting ballot-initiatives across the country to thwart reform referenda- $8.1 million was spent in Massachusetts to defeat ballot question "2", which would have raised charter school caps. Other spending directly supports extreme-left advocacy groups.

In 2016 alone, NEA and AFT combined to spend $72.6 million on purely political efforts, including Planned Parenthood and Emily's List

Among the causes and organizations funded or supported by your Rhode Island teachers union or your dues, are:

$502,400 to Checkmate Consulting, a media consulting group to support Democrat candidates and progressive-left causes, led by Ray Sullivan, a former union official.

$108,800 to a the far-left Working Families Rhode Island

NEA of RI Endorsed for the 2018 elections every far-left "progressive" incumbent in the General Assembly

$20,000 to a same-sex marriage group headed by a former union official, Ray Sullivan

$10,000 to Citizens for a Responsible Government to defeat a State Constitutional Convention ballot initiative

An office complex in Warwick that houses a multitude of liberal and progressive coalition partners

Exorbitant Compensation Packages. While you may have a close relationship with your local union representative, did you know that your dues fund exorbitant compensation packages for statewide union officials?